


The Full Invasion

by KyraP



Series: Grand Heist (GH) [2]
Category: 2P Hetalia - Fandom, Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Action, Alternative Universe - FBI, Crime, F/M, FBI Agent!Reader, FBI Agents!Allies, FBI Agents!Neutral Powers, GH Series, Human AU, Organized Crime, Romance... Maybe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-06-02 03:35:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 15,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6548941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyraP/pseuds/KyraP
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been six months since Dia has been recruited into the Allies, but a Dia copycat disrupts the peace. The reader's team is slowly falling apart around her. But this isn't simple case stress or high tensions... It's almost as they were different people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Dia. Do you see the target?” Francis’s voice came blasting through my headset with that telltale accent of his.

I turned down the volume and looked through the seeker of my brand new sniper. There was a flash of light blonde hair that caught my eye against I the dark streets below. I quickly looked around on the roof where I perched and grabbed my, modified-and-not-completely-legal-in-this-or-any-country, rocket launcher. I loaded and aimed it with a, modified-and-pretty-much-legal, automatic grappling hook connected to a thick metal wire. It launched, and the overwhelming force pushed me back. 

As I secured the opposite end I heard Arthur cautioning to me to be careful. I guessed he was still uneasy about having a girl on such a dangerous mission, alone. I finished securing the wire and slid down the wire into the open window. I landed inside without a single sound. The white walls illuminated by the dim moonlight. 

Footsteps.

I slid behind a display case waiting for the target to make their first and hopefully last appearance. I closed my eyes and prepared for all possibilities. I knew I was superior to this rookie thief that had been plaguing this area, and was about to show him. The crook came close and I pounced.

It was as if my animalistic fighting instincts took over, all I could remember after that was my foot connecting with his ribs and my other foot hitting him in the jaw, knocking him to the floor.

“Guys, I got him,” I reported to the team pinning the crook to the ground with my knee. “Requesting back-up.”

“Good job Dia!” Francis said. “We’re on our way.”


	2. Chapter 2

I entered the office to noise makers, party poppers, and many very annoyed looking office workers. My teammates were in full celebration mode (and sometimes that caused more problems than we could handle).

"Guys!" I said dropping my bag by the door. "What's going on?"

"This is your tenth case solved!" Francis said, a noise maker sticking out of the corner of his mouth. 

"And to think," Arthur added. "You only started six months ago. You are doing excellently, and I heard Felicia is doing just as well."

Yao laughed, "And we thought that we could solve more cases with Al and Matt. All we needed was you (Name)."

Alfred and Matthew glared at Yao, who paid no attention to them. I patted them on the head, avoiding their two golden curls (I learned why the hard way).

"It's ok boys, you were up the best." I said "Meaning me."

They rolled their eyes and they went back to the team's general merrymaking and keeping Arthur away from any alcoholic beverage. We were about to open a bottle of Francis' prized French wine when there was a knock at the door . I put down the bottle and opened the door to find Allistor taking off his thick over jacket.

"Lass turn on channel six news," he said frantically his voice laced with his thick Scottish accent. "There's something you and th' boys 'ave got ta see."

As ordered I turned on the television to channel six to see that they were in the middle of special news announcement.

"You heard here first folks," the news reporter said holding a stack of crisp white papers. "The infamous thief Diamond in the Rough has returned from their six month hiatus."

My team looked at me in a state of pure shock. I had a similar look on my face. Murmurs came from the office workers, only to quickly be shushed by Allistor. 

"Three weeks ago there was robbery from a English museum, and a rare emerald was stolen in under a minute. The local police were baffled and could not find any evidence or create a suspect list. The next morning an anonymous caller informed Scotland Yard that they had intel that Diamond in the Rough, known as 'Dia' to world wide authorities, was the criminal responsible of this heist. Museums and connoisseurs across the globe are taking drastic measures to protect themselves and their jewels against the second wave of the thief's robbing spree. But the question remains, who is 'Dia'? And where will they strike next?"

The television was turned off by Allistor. This was a lot to try to comprehend. Not only did the entire world believe I came out of hiding, but this is also questioned my integrity, reliability, and honor. Everything that even a thief should hold dear.

"Well you heard them Allies!" Allistor said using his accent less, authority driven voice. "Dia was your case and your responsibility to close. Now that the crime wave is continuing it is still your responsibility to close it once again. Now head out, I want you in England by the next sunrise."

"Yes sir!" The team sounded off and headed out. I was heading out the door when a hand landed on my shoulder stopping me.

"(Name), I know 'yer are not responsible for this." He said, his hard emerald eyes melting into something softer. "But the team may have their doubts about 'ya. So if 'ya want to, I could take 'ya off this case."

I looked at him sternly "Thank you Allistor, but with all due respect, not being there won't help me clear my name. Catching this copy cat will." And without another word I left the room, and headed to London.


	3. Chapter 3

We made it to England around 5 hours later. From the airport we made a mad dash to the museum, where we, amazingly, found all the evidence nicely sealed and organized. Scotland Yard did a a better job then usual when collecting all the evidence.

Alfred made a comment about how Arthur's "people" has done better without him, and then was slapped upside the head by an unamused English and Canadian.

We made our way to Scotland Yard's "Head Quarters" (for lack of a better term) where we requested to see the evidence. In a little while the chief of police came to escort us to the evidence files. 

We dug and scoured through every bin, box, and bag, and found that there was nothing that could help anyone. A couple of pictures, faulty tapes, and some cut wires. Not even a note of any kind. This did not have even the faintest trace of "Dia's" signature. The only evidence tracing the evidence to my thief persona was the tipster, and no one even knew who they were.

We quietly exited the station and booked a nearby hotel. The room was large and had three bedrooms with restrooms and a main room with a desk, similar to the room the guys had in L.A.

Once I found the room I was staying, Ivan and Yao pulled me into their room and sat me down on one of the beds.

"(Name)," Ivan said forcefully. "Did you or did you not rob that museum?"

I was completely surprised. I wasn't expecting such a sudden interrogation. "No I didn't," I said. "Why would I do that? I took and oath and I plan to keep it. I can't believe you guys don't trust me."

"It's not like we don't trust you trust you we," Yao interjected. "We're just trying to do our job. Dia you have to understand that-aru."

"I can't believe it," I said. "I'm leaving," and I walked out of the room a fit of rage.

I made it to my room just before I threw myself onto my bed and screamed into my pillow. I couldn't believe that my team couldn't trust me. I knew that Allistor warned me before, but I never really thought that it would come true. I thought that after all this time my team would trust me. I guess not. Now that I knew my team didn't trust me this imposter became an entirely new threat. Not only to international security, it was a threat to my dignity and honor.

That's when I realized I would never be able to clear my name with a entourage like the allies, I would have to investigate in secret, in the shadows on my own time. The allies could think what they will, but I had to clear my name. It was the only way to get the team's trust back. This imposter must learn never to mess with me or with Dia.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the reader is suspicious of Alfred for being too much of an ass. Even for Alfred.

The next five days came and went; neither the allies nor I made any progress in the Dia case. The allies were growing more and more stressed with every passing day. Fists flew, words thrown, and a strange threat to call a sister always went down in HQ. My day consisted of interrogations and dead-ends and my nights was sneaking out, back streets, old favors returned, and avoiding the police. 

The Allies were constantly on the verge of becoming out right mad. Though despite all this, by the end of the day they were always able to not rip each other’s heads off. But it wasn't until the sixth day that I noticed something was amiss.

"Alfred, could you help me with something?" Arthur asked motioning him over to the computer. He probably needed help with tracking the tipster, something that they been trying to do for three days after their other "leads" only lead them to a dead end (or drunk, either or).

Alfred looked at him, his blue eyes shining through a scowling face. His hair was newly washed and was brightly gold. He was sitting in front a game-boy and put it down when Arthur spoke. He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the table setting his game-boy down on the table beside him.

"Are you really that old?" He replied very rudely. "Can't you even work a simple machine?" He waivered and suddenly his entire cocky appearance he usually had dropped. He was suddenly a worried man that was a hollow shell of what he used to be. Then, as fast as he dropped it, he put on his put on his genuine smile he always wore.

Now normally, Alfred did make jokes regarding Arthur's age (even though he is only 26), but the comments he made were always good humored and well intended. But this comment was rude and almost harsh. Something that Alfred would never do.

Alfred earned a look from the rest of the team. Matthew, as well as Arthur, gave the American a good scolding about manners. I could tell Alfred was hiding something and kept an eye on the three blondes. Arthur and Matt scolded him firmly, as they usually did. But in the midst of all this Alfred looked straight at me, as if he was targeting me; as he had a gun pointed at my head.

Alfred's behavior bugged me. A lot. But, at the time I simply brushed it off as "Case stress" and went back to work.

I didn't know how that this "issue" would change the course of the case. 

And how it would lead to the downfall of the Allies.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Cupcake" is a strange nickname.

Later on that same night, I got out of my shower and heard a strange noise. It sounded like something shattering, followed by a soft strangled groan. I threw on a baggy long sleeve, that was two sizes too big and pajama pants the covered half of my feet (hopefully you all think underwear is a given), and went outside to investigate.

Outside I saw Arthur clutching his wrist, blood seeping from the fresh wound. He was surrounded by shards of a broken glass with water and ice cubes. I ran by his side and gently took his hand. Examining it, it wasn’t a deep wound, and it didn’t need stiches. I told him to stay put as I ran to the kitchen to get the first aid kit.

When I returned, I helped him up on the couch and started bandaging his wound. I sighed and looked at his face as I wrapped the cloth around his palm and wrist.

“I was only up to get a glass of water,” He said sheepishly. “I don’t know why I’m so clumsy cupcake.”

I paused, there was something wrong with the way he spoke, he had a higher voice and had a different tone to his voice. If I weren’t surprised by his sudden nickname for me, I wouldn’t have noticed. He never called anyone “Cupcake.” He usually called people “Dear” or the, very rare, “Poppet’ (though he does call Francis “Frog” on occasion).

Blushing, I looked back at his hand to make sure that it was bandaged correctly. When I was certain that the wound wouldn’t bleed through the bandage, I ripped it away from the roll and put it away in it’s case. I stood up and Arthur quickly followed behind me.

“Is something wrong (Name)?” He asked avoiding the shards. “You haven’t been talking much.”

I could feel myself stiffen at the sound of his voice. I turned to him trying to hide my perplexed expression on my face. 

“Of course Arthur,” I said, trying to hide the tremble in my voice. “It’s just that you sound a bit different than usual.”

He walked to me and put his arms around me. “I’m just a bit tired (Name). It is pretty late.”

I put my arms around his neck returning his hug, my fingers brushing against his bright blonde hair. Arthur didn’t like human contact when it didn’t involve catching a criminal (or punching Francis). He gingerly pecked my forehead and went into his room with a smile and wave. 

As he closed his door I looked at the hand that brushed against his hair. There was a sulfuric like yellow powder covering my fingertips. It was the type of powder that someone uses to recolor his or her hair on short notice. Felicia and I used it all the time for short undercover scouting for the more elaborate heists.

I washed my hands of the powder and started to clean up the glass shards, which were nearly forgotten. As I swept it up I saw that there were splatters of blood that couldn’t be made from where Arthur was standing. 

I finished the job and threw the shards in the garbage bin. I went inside my bed and flop on the bed. I laid in the dark thinking of Arthur and Alfred’s strange behavior.

“What should I do?” I asked myself. “Allistor is too busy with dealing with the press and god knows when Felicia will answer her phone.” Sighed and rolled over in my bed. “The best thing to do is consult Francis in the morning.”

I let my eyes close and, for the first time in days, fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Francis is being melodramatic. What else is new? In other news, Yao is smoking and the reader gets a new toy.

I awoke from a dreamless sleep to the grim cloudy London sky. I quickly got changed into a (f/c) shirt and jeans. I walked into the main room and was welcomed by the strong smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke. I coughed for a second, surprised by the sudden aroma. 

“Is there something wrong (Name)?” said a certain longhaired Asian with a cigarette hang out of his mouth. He wore a sly smile on his face, and had a new blood red dress shirt barely buttoned to the top. 

Francis entered the room and immediately started coughing. He fanned the air around him trying to clear away the smoke. He looked at Yao with a stern look.

“Mon Dieu! Why are you smoking Yao?” He asked; his voice was a bit coarse from all the second-hand smoke. “You know very well that you can’t smoke in here, it’s a hotel. And I hate the smell of cigarette smoke.”

Yao sighed and put out the cigarette, and I went to go crack a window to let out the air. In about five minutes the smoke was cleared out and the rest of the Allies replaced it. And by fifteen tensions were high and threats were thrown without warning.

I pulled Francis away from a heated debate with Alfred to the only quiet room in the suite, my room. As I pulled him in Alfred followed in hot pursuit; Francis just made it inside before I slammed the door in the angry American’s face. I leaned on the door and let out an exasperated sigh. Francis sat on the bed with a look of pure despair, an expression I was not used to on his usually cheerful face.

“Francis.” I said, giving him a serious look. “Do you know what’s going on? Out there is a mad house. And if we don’t do something soon, I fear the worst.”

“(Name), you know that I can’t tell you everyth-,” Francis started putting his cheek in his hand with a glum expression.

“Francis!” I yelled. “I know that you know that the Allies aren’t being just that, Allies. They suddenly became moody, violent, and secretive. And you and I both know this is can’t be case stress! So before giving me all that classified bullshit, think about the fact that if they keep acting like this, we’re probably going to get pulled off the case or forced to resign. I mean come on; they’re acting like different people!”

Francis seemed to be pulled out of the darkness by my “speech.” He jumped off the bed and pointed to me shocked. “Say that again!” he said suddenly energetic.

“Francis, I know that you know that the Allies-,” I started again simply reciting my words.

“No, after that! The last sentence you said.” They’re acting like different people?”

“Yes! That’s it!” He started pacing the room biting his thumbnail until it was almost raw. After a few minutes of this, he suddenly dug in his breast pocket and pulled out a small device. “Here.” 

I took the device from his hand. It was no bigger than my palm, fully plastic and jet-black with the exception of a red rubber button in the middle. I ran I thumb in the smooth surface.

“What is it?” I asked looking at him.

“Back when I was a private a couple years back, it was mandatory to carry that with us at all times. We called it an A.T.U., Ally Tracking Unit. Where ever you are in the country or even the world I’ll be able to find you. The old boss said you could do the reverse, but never really explained it. If we ever lose you,” He tapped the A.T.U. “We can find you.”

“And how is this going to help me?” I asked. 

“You’ll know when you need it,” He said. He walked past me and turned the doorknob but didn’t open the door. He turned to me and gave me a playful wink and salute. “The battlefield awaits.” 

I threw myself on the bed as I heard the door close. I looked at the A.T.U and gently held it in my hand. I sat up and reached for the necklace that held a small diamond that my father gave me. I hooked the device to the chain and put it under my shirt where I always keep it.

I knew I would probably need it very soon.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys are acting really weird. The reader gives Felicia a call, they talk about even weirder things.

I stepped outside to see Ivan being scolded by Yao and Alfred scolding Arthur. That is when I gave up on trying to ignore their odd behavior, I needed to vent to someone. Someone close, that I knew for certain I could trust.

There was only one person that could fit those circumstances. I backed into my room and pulled out my phone from my bag. I quickly dialed the number and fell on the bed, letting my knees dangle off the edge.

“Ciao?” A sleepy voice said on the other side of the line. “(Name) is that you?”

“Felicia, I’m sorry were you sleeping?” I asked already knowing the answer. “What time is it where you are? I forgot you’re in a different time zone as me.”

“No, no (Name),” she replied with a yawn. “I was just taking a cat-nap, it’s 3 pm where I am.”

I looked at the clock; it read around three in the afternoon, “You’re in England as well?”

“You guys too? Allistor assigned us a case, what was about again?” She paused. “Oh yeah! There has been a strange number of kidnappings in the area, mostly friends and family of important ambassadors. What about you?”

“Continuation of the Dia case...”

“What? No way! But we haven’t done a job in ages! You’re not working jobs without your favorite partner are you?” She asked with a whimper.

“No!” I exclaimed almost falling off the bed. “I haven’t worked in ages either, did you really expect me to betray the AXAL oath?”

She laughed lightly, “Of course not (Name). Knowing you, you probably followed it to the letter. You don’t give up promises without a fight.” She passed thinking everything over. “Do you think that it’s a fan of our work? We’ve got some weird fan letters before.”

I shuddered at the thought of the fan letters we used received in the past. We received at least ten or more in a month. Some were sweet, while others were just plain creepy. The one I remember was there was no letter just a lock of short black hair, needless to say we threw away that letter as soon as we opened it.

“Maybe, there were a lot of fans that said they wanted to be like us,” I paused thinking about that one time when one of my old mentors had a copycat.

He was already retired, and was teaching me how to vanish off any governments, or anyone’s radar. He stopped receiving all those fan letters that everyone said would flood his apartment’s mailbox to the point had to rent a second room just to have enough room in his mailbox for other things. Around halfway of my training, we saw in the newspaper that he had returned and just hired by a local gang to rob a man who owed them a lot of money off of his chronic gambling. We had to put off my guidance while we looked for the copycat. All the crime scenes were exactly the way he would have finished a job, a shot of arsenic through an ice needle only as thick as a strand of hair. Made so that it would dissolve on contact with the target. We searched for the copycat for a couple of days, until we finally found him. We told him that it was great to go in to the assassin profession, but don’t do it under my mentor’s name. The copycat agreed and we went back to my training; needless to say he had to move again.

“No,” I said finally deciding upon it. “It can’t be them or else it would have our exact signature down to the smallest of details. If it was a fan, it would have been obvious to the me and the team.”

“Yeah,” She paused creating a stressing silence between the two of us. “Switching topics, how’s your new team?”

“Hm? The guys?” I looked at the door where it sounded as if a war had been broken out behind it. “They’re all acting kind of weird, not like the guys that chased us for years... they’re acting like...” I paused unsure if I should say my thoughts aloud. I look toward the door and the noise behind it. Quietly, I said, “Like they’re under 2axi.”

She gasped quietly; I didn’t really want to believe it either. 

We figured it out during Felicia’s first month of working in her FBI team. We were separated into two teams, and as such we were put into two different training programs. The Allies preferred on site training, so I studied their habits and was trained by the members during and between cases. The Axis, the team Felicia was hired into, liked the regulation FBI training and so didn’t start working with the Axis until a few months after I started. 

She called me asking me if it was weird that she was noticing that her new team looked kind of like our old 2p Inc. bosses, Lutz, Luciano, and Kuro. At first we brushed it off as a mere coincidence, a strange coincidence, but one nonetheless. But she started to call me more and more with stranger observations-like how Lutz hated cleaning but Ludwig was anal about it, or how Kuro preferred his staff rather than his katana while Kiku utterly refused to use a staff under any circumstances-that with each seemed less and less like a coincidence and something more deliberate. 

We called it the “2p Inc. Axi” effect; the “2axi” effect for short, and left it as a one time thing thinking, since our old bosses were disbanded, we wouldn’t have to think about it ever again. But now we both knew we were dead wrong.

The Allies have the 2axi effect.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go south, really quickly. Like. REALLY quickly.

I wish I could've chatted the day away with Felicia, and then maybe everything could've different. Maybe all this drama could've ended differently. Then maybe…

No, this journal is not a place to think about changing the past, nor it is a place to express remorse. It is simply a place to state the events that lead up to now.

Now, back to the story.

I finished my call with Felicia two hours after it started. I lie back on my bed and found everything peaceful. I lay there looking out the window to the few dark clouds that was forming in the sky. Everything felt peaceful; too peaceful, or rather too peaceful for the Allies as of late. I looked towards the door expecting some type of fight to break from behind. 

One minute passed, then three, then five. Still nothing. I got up off my bed, hoping it wouldn't creak too much, and tried to listen through the crack between the door and the wall. I could barely make out the muffled sounds that came from beyond the door. I assumed that my hearing wasn't good enough and went to dig out one of my older gadgets that I used back when I was still training with 2p! Inc.

I made it with another one of my technology mentors, a former NASA technician. But the first time I used it was during my end of training “exam” (for lack of a better term). Three of the most promising “privates” were chosen to become a specialist, myself included, trained for three years until we were able to take this pass or fail field test (and “fail” usually meant killed). My assignment was to get plans to a new security system to a powerful local bank that was recently robbed. I used the device to listen in on the head technician who was in charge of the plans. After learning where the plans were kept, it was simple to nab it from right under their noses.

I was the only one who passed the final test. It seems like a very sad thing, but in the criminal world, it was the way it had to be.

The device I was using is a small disk barely an inch in diameter with a shimmering blue transmitter gemstone in the middle (whether I stole it or not is none of your business).

I looked under the door and spotted Francis's Calvin Klein’s he received from Arthur for his birthday. I hoped that all those wasted hours playing makeshift "shuffleboard" with Felicia paid off as I pushed the disk under the door. It slid across the floor for what seemed like an eternity then it slowly came to a stop, not even an inch away from Francis's foot. I sighed a breath of relief. 

I went to my bedside table and set my iPod to the frequency if the listening device (it took more time to put that setting on than actually making the device). I put the headphones on and turned the volume down until it was quieter than a chirping bird.

"Where are they now?" A strained voice said that I thought could only be Ivan's.

"Don't worry, you'll see your comrades soon," another voice said, almost identical to Ivan's, only a bit deeper. "From behind bars that is."

There was a struggle, the sound of wood hitting wood rang in my ears, and then it went silent. Until there was a sound of something metallic hitting something and a painful groan. It was becoming too much. I had the urge, no, the need to burst out to help Ivan, but I knew that if he knew I was listening in, he would want me to stay hidden. And find out as much as I could.

"We know how much you care for your friend (Name)," said someone with a distinctly different French accent than Francis.

"You hurt her in anyway I swear-" a French accent said. This time it was definitely Francis's.

"Don't worry," the other Frenchman said. "We have no intention of hurting that petit oiseau. In fact that's the opposite of our intentions."

"Be patient Jacques," a voice said with the slightest New York accent. "Besides, we don't want our other guest to know."

"Other guest? Whose the other guest?" The man named Jacques asked.

"Next to your foot," the American said.

I could feel multiple pairs of eyes peering at me through the door. I took off my headphones right before a deafening 'Crunch' tore through them. I heard soft, slow, taunting footsteps heading towards my bedroom door. 

But I didn't need supernatural hearing to hear Francis and Ivan barely yell, "(Name)! Ru-!" right before their voices was cut short.

I didn't bother getting grabbing anything. My cellphone, wallet and badge remained in that room as I climbed out the window. I ran.

Ran down the fire escape. Ran through the crowded streets. Ran until the London rain soaked me through. I didn't know where I was running, or whom I was running from. But I just ran. I ran and I ran. Away from that hotel room, away from that street, and away from those teammates that I knew nothing about.

I ran, and didn't look back.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Running from a group a criminals is hard work. Luckily, some others help out. Hey, I'd be tired too.

I looked behind me after what seemed to be an eternity of running. There were nearly a thousand people behind me on the crowded streets of London. But beyond the tons of tourists, businessmen, and the cars whizzing by, was a head of brown hair. 

He was sitting at a table outside a café, his now short hair stuffed inside of a red military hat. As his red eyes scanned the street, for a split, horrifying, second, I thought his eyes met mine. But they soon kept moving, paying no attention to me. He would notice me if I stayed in the area for to long, so I started running once again.

I was running as fast as I possibly could. I stopped several blocks away, to catch my breath. I panted as I looked at the buildings around, not knowing where I was. I looked around and noticed a patch of dirty blonde hair in a long wavy ponytail standing on the other side of the street. He had brilliant glimmering violet eyes that were locked onto my plain (e/c) ones. He smirked and nudged the man next him. This man had flaming brown hair with a pair of sunglasses tangled in it, combined with tired, dull crimson eyes that gleamed evilly when they landed on me. He flashed me a flirtatious grin giving me a glimpse of a gap between his teeth.

I turned away, about to bolt, when I saw the man from the café a few feet away looking right at me. He winked and shook his head with a cocky grin. I turned around to run in the other direction, when a man with strawberry blonde hair gave me a wink and strut toward me he leaned down to me until we were eye to eye.

“‘Ello cupcake,” He said in a sweet voice. “There’s no point in running anymore, you’re completely surrounded.”

I scowled, thinking I was defeated. From beyond the man with the baby blue eyes I noticed another man. He was hidden behind a pane of glass; I couldn’t make out any specific details about him. I could see spiked up blonde hair and gleaming emerald eyes that were locked on to mine. But the thing that stood out to me the most was the shining FBI badge he flashed me through the glass. He waved in the universal signal saying ‘Hurry up and get over here.’

I ducked past the Englishman and started to run toward the building the agent was in. Even though I got a head start, I felt the Englishman’s hand brush against the back of my shirt. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as I dodged his hand and ran toward the cafe. The man with the auburn hair followed as well as ponytail and the man from the cafe.

I frantically opened the door to the shop, practically throwing myself into the shop. The moment I made it inside a man with long wavy brown hair and sleepy green eyes locked the door behind me, much to the displeasure of the men outside. They banged on the door their threats muffled by the door between us. The man with the auburn hair took out a handgun and aimed it right at the doorknob, ready to shoot. The man who locked the door shook his head and pointed out to the busy streets. Pointing out all the potential witnesses that were already watching everything happen and those who didn't notice yet. 

He scowled and put away his handgun. After a few seconds of exchanging words the men dispersed except for the man with the auburn hair.

He pounded on the door with a balled fist and pointed right at me and yelled loud enough for me to understand beyond the door, "You can't hide in there forever." With the same New York accent I heard earlier. Then he left. 

I sighed and let my body fall to the floor. I was dizzy, and was struggling to keep conscious. Several people gathered around me. The man from the windowpane, the man with sleepy green eyes, a man with deep brown hair and lively green eyes, and a man with an olive green hoodie pulled over his head hiding most of his face.

“(Name),” the green-eyed man said with a rich Spanish accent. “Is something wrong?”

“Give her some room,” the sleepy eyed man said.

“You think you can tell me what to do brat?” the hooded man quickly retorted.

The man that I saw behind the window looked like he was about to say something, but I never got a chance to hear it. 

The moment he opened his mouth to say it, my fatigue took over me and my entire world went dark.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreams are scary. Nightmares ensue.

I usually don't remember my dreams. And when I do it's usually something so strange I wish I did forget it. But people always told me that they dream of their 'god' or their messengers coming to them in their sleep telling them of impending fortune or doom. They were said to come peacefully and deliver the message giving them visions of the future. 

Whether I believed them or not is not the point I am trying to get across.

My dream started out in a rather large empty room with white walls and gray stone floors speckled with splatters of a deep, daunting red. Looking around I walked along the smooth white walls letting my fingers brush against them. But the moment the tips of my fingers touched the wall there was a strong burning sensation that scorched throughout my entire body in moments. I stumbled back, grabbing my hand in pain.

I looked my hand and curled into a fist. I looked around at the walls and saw they were now dyed in a glowing a demonic red.

I looked frantically for a way out, when I saw a wooden door with a silver doorknob adorning it. I stumbled toward the door and was about to grab the doorknob when I heard a voice say, "Not that way (Name)."

I stopped, my hand mere inches away from the doorknob. I felt my entire world spinning beneath me. The voice sounded familiar, I felt like I should have known who it was the moment I heard it. The voice was soft, yet cruel; almost like a spoiled child slowly squeezing the life out of his favorite toy.

Darkness started to envelope the room, slowly crawling its way towards me. I felt a hand cover my mouth and pulled me into the darkness, and I soon began falling into what seemed like a bottomless pit; until I hit the bottom of course. Hitting the bottom was painful, almost as if my entire body was being crushed under 5000 pounds I started to get up ignoring my muscles screaming for me to stop. The moment I stood up I saw something in the corner of my eye, a cruel evil smile adorned with glittering white teeth.

Then a pair of turquoise eyes shrouded in darkness from behind me. 

I turned toward them, trying to ignore the pounding of my own heart filling my ears. I was scared, almost as scared as a child when they see a monster outside their window. But the difference was there was no older sibling I could ask for help, or parents to come rushing into my room. I was completely alone.

"Who are you?" I asked in the bravest voice I could muster.

"(Name)," the voice said sadly. "Don't tell me you forgot me so soon. I was your boss when you were a thief." The eyes disappeared and a darkened figure rushed past me.

"Lutz?" I asked.

"No, he was a moron. It was amazing he got anything done." 

"Then you're their boss, the head of 2p!s inc."

"Why yes, what a smart girl."

"Where is my team?" Another figure rushed by.

"Their with MY team. And I wouldn't worry about them they won't be your team for much longer."

I was getting angry. "Who are you?"

"Ooh. You're starting to the ask good questions. And I would answer you (Name). If you didn't know already."

"(Name)! (Name)!" Yelled someone from the outside world.

"Well this is 'so long' (Name)," the voice said.

That's when I woke up.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People help out the reader and their predicament. The reader is babied. It's too early in the morning for any of this.

I woke up in a cold sweat in a room bathed in only a dim flickering golden glow. Despite it being relatively dark, the light still stung at my eyes. I looked around as my eyes slowly adjusted to the light. I was tightly tucked in a bed between the sheets and the blanket. As I about to get myself up a hand on my shoulder kept me on my back.

“Are you ok chica?” a man with bright green eyes said gently. “You looked really scared.”

“What?” I asked only noticing him sitting at the edge at the bed now. “Wait, where am-?”

He stopped me. “You can ask questions all you want (Name). But for right now your health is my main concern.” He looked over to the other side of the room. I looked over and saw a man in a green overcoat and white scarf standing in the doorframe hanging his extra layers on the coat rack nearby. He looked over at us and glanced over at me. 

“Finally awake?” he said, with a humorous smirk. I noticed that he took off a white masquerade mask revealing dark brown eyes. “I’ll go wake up the brat and tell him the good news.”

“Si.” The man next to me said. “And get Tim too.”

“Yes, yes I’ll get little Timmy.” He laughed as he exited to get the two people they mentioned earlier.

My eyes stayed glue toward the door until the man was long gone. I looked back at the man at my bed; he had a thermometer in his hand and was dangling it over my face.

“Ahhh~” he said motioning me to open my mouth so he could take my temperature.

I steadfastly refused and kept my mouth locked tight. I didn't like the idea of someone I didn't know putting something in my mouth. Even if they said they were concerned about my health.

"C'mon (Name)," he said waving it in front of my face. "I won't answer your questions until I know your fever broke."

Reluctantly, I opened my mouth, letting him place the cold metal tip under my tongue. It was quiet for a while we waited for the results.

I looked around and noticed that the room I was in was old but well maintained. The walls were painted over in a white eggshell color. The roof was also painted over but in a musty blue. The hall leading out of the room looked as if it was cobblestone but it was to dark to tell from where I was, and the doorframe was older and slightly molding. The only things in the room were the bed, a coat rack, counters fixed to the wall, about a dozen lit candles, and a small worktable cluttered with tools and wires. While the room had light fixtures there were no light bulbs anywhere. Only candles were lighting the room, and not well, if I may add.

He gingerly took out the thermometer out, breaking my train of thought. He squinted to read the temperature in the dim light. He smiled with satisfaction and quickly put it aside and sat on the bed next to me. 

“Looks like your fever finally went down,” he said smiling.

“Antonio,” said a sleepy voice called from the other side of the room to, at least I assumed, the man next to me. “Did you even introduce yourself? It’s impolite to wake someone,” He glared at the man in the hood who glared at him back. Another man with blonde hair man entered as well, breaking them up with his mere presence.

And he certainly had a presence. Nearly 7 feet tall with a medium build, and cold green eyes that could pierce steel. Even though he was in a simple white shirt and simple pajama bottoms, anyone would want them on their side of a fight, and never see what happens when you oppose him. 

“Especially if the person you woke up doesn’t even know you’re name," the sleepy man said, making his point. 

"Yeah," the blonde haired man said, his voice was as low and sturdy as he was. His bangs fell so far down his face every other move he made was to remove the bangs so he could see everything around him. "It's 5 in the morning. If I didn't know who you were, I'd strangle you."

The hooded man shivered. "Can't this wait until they're out of our nightwear?" He asked.

Antonio buckled, "Fine, I'll give you two 5 minutes," he looked at the blonde man uncertainly. "Make that 10." 

I watched as they all exited, mumbling complaints and giving one of them a quick jab in the stomach, and the other quickly returning it. The room emptied out until Antonio and I were the only ones in it.

I sunk in my bed running last night's dream through my head. I couldn't live down what he said. When he said I knew who he was. And when he said those things about Lutz, Kuro, and Luciano. They were my bosses, but were they all just employed to be puppets? Is that what I was when I was there? A puppet? 

And what did he mean “They’re with my team?” Who was his team?

“Wait,” I thought. “Didn’t I see them before I blacked out?" What happened? Why couldn’t I remember? 

I tried to run through the day’s events. I woke up, with Yao was smoking in the main room, I talked to Francis, called Felicia and then, and then...

I stopped, suddenly all the memories of right before I blacked out rushed into my head. The man from the cafe, the New Yorker, Francis and Ivan, the man in the windowpane, suddenly returned into my memory. I just wanted to sink back into the bed a stay there. Antonio must have seen how unnerved I looked because he rested a hand on my head and gently pet me.

"What's wrong (Name)?" he asked.

"I need to find my team." I said sternly, and started to get up. 

As gently as possible, he pushed me back into the bed. I resisted, trying to force myself up, but finding it hard to do with the thick comforter tightly packing me in. He opened his mouth

“No,” A voice said commandingly, but it wasn’t Antonio’s. I looked toward the door as the blonde haired man entered, ducking his head under the low doorframe. He spiked his hair up out of his eyes, giving me a very good look into the jade orbs and a scar on his forehead. 

"You're staying here and staying hidden," he said. "It's easier to keep you away from 'them' here than in the busy streets."

The two other men walked in, both yawning and quietly arguing with each other. The blonde man glared at both of them, and they immediately stood at attention. I couldn't help but laugh a little when the blonde looked away, and the sleepy man, almost instantly, elbowed him in the ribs, and the hooded man quickly returning it.

“We better introduce ourselves,” Antonio said, but more to the others than me. The others nodded.

“I’ll go first,” the sleepy man said. “I’m Agent Heracles Karpusi from the Greek National Intelligence Service.”

“But you can call him ‘Brat,’” The hooded man said as Agent Karpusi glared at him. He laughed and continued, “My name is Agent Sadiq Adnan from the Turkish National Intelligence Organization.”

“But you can call him ‘Old Man Jenkins,’” Agent Karpusi said mocking Agent Adnan’s tone of voice.

Antonio glared at them. “Don’t mind them,” He whispered to me as the two agents fought amongst themselves. “They knew each other from birth.”

“I’m Agent Tim Citroen,” The tall blonde man said, stopping Agent Karpusi and Adnan’s trivial argument. “From the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service.”

“But,” Agent Adnan said putting, the much taller, Agent Citroen in a headlock. “You can call him ‘Little Timmy.’” I watched Agent Citroen force his way out of the headlock, as Agent Adnan rubbed his arm in pain.

Antonio tapped me on the shoulder and gestured to himself, “I’m Agent Antonio Fernandez Carriedo of the Centro Superior de Información de la Defensa,” He said, making the rest of the introductions seem a bit lack luster in comparison. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Agent Karpusi give the universal signal for ‘Wrap it up.’ “But most people, because apparently my name is ‘too long,’ call me Antonio or Toni.”

“I’m,” I started saying but was interrupted by Agent Carriedo.

“You don’t need to introduce yourself (Name),” He said, laughing slightly. “We all know who you are.”

“You’re Agent (First Name) (Middle Initial (if adequate)). (Last Name),” Agent Citroen said. “From the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations. Former jewel thief from the criminal organization ‘2p! Inc.’”

“How do all of you know me?” I said looking at all them.

“We were all asked to watch over you.” Agent Adnan said. “By several people actually. Besides, we are all related to the ‘Dia’ case.”

“Really?” I asked, suddenly getting the feeling that they might be REALLY angry with me. 

“Old man Jenkins and I made the masks the Allies wore to the masquerade ball you were captured in.” Agent Karpusi said. “I was also the head of the Dia case in the Mediterranean area.”

Agent Citroen spoke next, “Antonio and I were working undercover in a mob that was also apprehended due to the wrap up of the Dia case.”

“I also made the suits the Allies wore to the masquerade ball.” Antonio said.

“If you were all on the Dia case, why are you helping me?” I said hesitantly. “You’re not still mad at me right?”

“No, (Name),” Antonio said. “Mi amigo, Francis, told me that you were in danger and asked me to watch over you the past couple of days.” 

“You’re friend,” Agent Citroen stated. “Felicia, told my former coworker about your... Predicament. Agent Honda told me to resolve the issue.”

“He also asked me and the brat,” Agent Adnan said.

“Enough with the introductions,” Agent Karpusi said. “Time is of the essence. We have to find the Allies and quickly. The only question is how.”

“I think I know,” Agent Citroen said. “I think this is what we need.” 

He reached into his pocket, and pulled my necklace. Attached to it was the A.T.U.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the reader beats three people's ass at once. The three are impressed.

I was up, and out of bed within 3 seconds of seeing the ATU. I was about to grab it out of Agent Citroen's hand when he yanked back, just out of my reach and covered my mouth with his other hand. He looked up as I saw flakes of paint chip off the ceiling and fall to the floor. And the faint sound of pounding boots to wood very apparent.

"Before that," Agent Citroen said quietly. “This place is unstable. We have to move to the surface. 

“The surface?” I wondered under my breath. “Wait, we’re underground? How did we get down here?” 

“Karpusi,” Agent Citroen said, ignoring my rambling, “Get the truck ready, if we run out of gas it’s on your head. Adnan, get anything you can to the truck. Don’t pack anything we don’t need, including your ‘secret’ stash of sweets. 

Agent Adnan sighed in defeat and ran off behind Agent Karpusi.

“Carriedo, go salvage as much as you can. Only essentials and I'll make sure we go unnoticed.” He said and as he turned to me, Antonio rushed out the door.

Agent Citroen looked at me, “Agent (Last Name), take care of the men upstairs," He threw me a dagger; my old Undergod dagger, the same one I used on all my heists; Allistor forced me to give up when I first joined the Allies. "Try to keep them in one piece."

I looked to him to ask where he got it from, but he was already halfway out the door, and I quickly followed suit.

I took it out of it's sheath and saw that it was newly polished, and sharpened. It was obvious whoever sharpened my dagger was a master, and knew a blade as well, if not better, than I did.

I grinned as I ran upstairs, not being able to hide my excitement. I've been too "goody two-shoes" for far too long, and my inner criminal needed a release. Being able to do anything I wanted and get away with it was one of the reasons I became a criminal. As I neared the top of the stairs I slowed down, lightening my steps. Taking all the precautions I did when I did at any normal heist. 

I stopped near the top of the stairs and took a shaky breath reminding myself what was at stake. My team was in trouble, and these guys were simply speed bumps in my way trying to slow me down.

“Yeah,” I muttered trying to calm myself down, “Speed bumps.”

There was a pause in their action, then the familiar sound of guns being drawn. If I had to say one thing about them, they had impeccable hearing.

For a slight moment, I thought of attacking right then and there. But I resisted my urges so I could catch them off guard; I'd rather not be riddled with bullets, thank you very much.

30 seconds passed, then a minute, then another; not one sound coming from me or them. I was just about to stop waiting when I heard mumbles from the intruders; something about another being an idiot and that it "was just a rat." I smiled; never let your guard down when invading another's residence, a tip these guys would soon learn.

There were 3 of them; all of them had put their weapons away; perfect. Letting instinct kick in, I floored all of the men within half a minute; all of them were too surprised to draw their weapons. Just as I was about to leave, one of them looked up at me. 

He had a multitude of bruises and cuts, most of which were my fault. He was panting heavily as he groggily propped himself up on his elbow; his purple eyes shining through the shade of his hood.

"Great job Dia, you overpowered us." he said with a cocky grin. "You scared the crap out of the Jap."

I smiled, walking over to him and gave him a swift kick in the gut. He groaned in pain but then started to laugh, hysterically even, "Bella, you're as feisty as ever."

"Luciano?" I muttered, half surprised and half in fear. "I thought you-."

"Died? Ha! Not in your life, Bella. No one gets out of the boss' hands scot-free. Not even yours truly. Not even you're truly free."

I scowled as I made my way toward the door. As much as I hated to admit it, Luciano could really get under my skin sometimes. "I would kill you, but I don't have the time right now, Mr. Vargas." 

I was halfway out the door when I heard a different voice call out to me, “Mädchen, that was a good fight.”

“Hai, (Name)-san. You caught all of us off guard.”

I turned, “Lutz? Kuro? You’re all still...”

“Of course. 2p!inc. isn’t a place you can just leave, he always finds you again,” Lutz said.

I was about to ask who ‘he’ was, I knew they were talking about the boss in charge of 2p!inc. but I never met him. Though the eyes in my dream; I knew those eyes and it was sending me spiraling in circles, I was just too scared to admit who it was. Fearing the answer I walked out the door to meet the other agents when Luciano called to me,

"We'll be seeing you (Name), we all will."


	13. Chapter 13

I met with the other agents after dealing with my former bosses and what they had told still nagged me, bringing up more questions that needed answers. Who was the boss of 2p!inc.? Could I really not escape my criminal past? Who had had my team? Who was his team? Is the Dia copycat a part of 2p!inc.? Who were the owners of those turquoise eyes I saw last night?

I sighed, it seemed there's more and more questions that keep arising, and not one answer.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, I looked up and saw Antonio's smiling face, “Everything will work out (Name). I know it."

"I know," I replied simply as he lead the way to the escape car.

If only I believed my own words.

Mindlessly, I got in the front seat with Agent Citroen as I watched the world pass; between the "talk" with my former bosses and my dream last night, I felt as if I was trapped in an airless box, in a locked room, in the corner (you don't know how long it took me to come up with that simile).

"Hey," Agent Citroen said, breaking a long present silence, "we have to talk."

"Yeah?" I said, my voice straining to get even the slightest noise out.

"It's about hat thing attached to your necklace."

"The ATU? What about it?"

"While you were asleep; Karpusi, Adnan, and I, tried to reverse engineer it, it's a GPS system right? Why would you need something like that?"

"I didn't think I did... Francis gave it to me."

"You're sure it was Francis? Not the others?"

I paused, thinking of the exact moment he gave it to me, "Yes, there's no way it could be anyone else."

He suddenly pulled over and stops the car, the other agents passing us.

"Look, (Name)," he said sternly, "I trust you as much as I would trust my own sister. And the same goes for Francis. But are you can trust this ATU Francis gave you? What if the other team is tracking is right now?"

"I know it's safe."

"How? How do you know that your team hasn’t given into whatever those scoundrels might have done to them? How do you know they haven't given the other one to them if there is?"

I paused; how did I know? What if this a lost cause? What if when I arrive I get ambushed because my team's resolve broke and let their captives know I was coming? 

What if they’re already dead? I thought. 

"No," I said.

He looked at me expectantly, "No, what? No you don't know?"

"No!" I yelled, my resolve hardening as firm as diamonds. "I trust my team! There's no way they would do anything to put me in danger! And I don't care if about the chance it's a lost cause! I don't care if I get captured, executed, tortured or anything they can dish out! If theirs the slightest possibility that I can save them, I will."

He considered my answer for a moment, "Why? Why would you put yourself in the line of fire like that?"

I didn't even have to think before answering, "Because that's what they would do for me."

He smiled approvingly, "That was the perfect answer Dia." He pressed a couple of buttons on his stereo, "Scratch the secondary location. We're going straight to the action."

"What?" Antonio answer through the stereo. "What about (Name)? She needs her rest."

He looked at me and smiled, "She's fine. She's ready to face the 2p!Allies."

"Are you sure?" Agent Karpusi asked.

"Yes," he replied, sounding completely confident. "We'll notify you of the location soon. Don't draw any attention to yourself. Stop somewhere and await further notice, but be ready to leave at any time. Roger?

"Roger," the rest of them said in unison.

He turned the radio off then dug in his trouser pocket and pulled out the ATU, still connected to my necklace, "(Name), work on this, and try to find a way to re-route it so we can track others."

"How?" I said looking around. "I don't see any tools here."

Suddenly the engine roared to life, "There isn't here, but where we're going to, there will be."

I took us less than 15 minutes to get to our destination, a small, old, abandoned gas station. I asked him why he wanted to come here, but got no response; so I simply followed him. When inside I realized that the outside was just a cover to avoid suspicion. Inside was a high-tech, programmers' paradise, nearly 50 different monitors, testing station, and other materials galore.

"Wow," I said, not knowing a better way to show my amazement.

He chuckled, and gave me a very brief tour of the facility. Then it was straight to work.

I'm not sure how long I worked, but it was probably several hours. At some point Agent Citroen gave me a cup of coffee, which I ignored until fatigue became too much to bear. But when I finally finished, I felt prouder about it than any other gadget I invented.

"Done?" Agent Citroen said, making his way over.

"Yeah," I said wiping the sweat off my forehead. There were several modifications to the ATU. Now we could physically see where the other trackers were, as well as feel a vibration that would become more rapid the closer it was to another ATU, like a metal detector. It was also able to access needed confidential documents and information to use to find the others.

"Interesting," Agent Citroen said, not needing an explanation. "Very impressive (Name). Let's try it out."

I looked at him skeptically, "On what?"

He searched in his inside coat pocket, and pulled another ATU, but the casing was grey instead of black.

"You have another one?" I said, stunned.

"It's not the same as yours. Yours is the not called an ATU, but an ATUal. While mine is an ATUnp. It used to be standard issue for all FBI teams involved in the AXAL triangle."

"Triangle? I thought there were only two teams. The Axis and the Allies."

"Yes, but a couple years back there was three. My team was dissolved due to a break in security. We were the Neutral Powers, a sister team to the Axis Powers and the Allied Force."

I nodded, and then switched my attention to the ATU. Turning it on, within 5 seconds it located more than 50 ATU's marked by red dots spread throughout the world, five in the UK; one being itself, marked with a blue dot. To find a certain agent I just had to type their name then it would eliminate all other dots except for that one and itself. I quickly entered "Citroen, Tim" into the system and it eliminated all other dots, except for the one right next to mine. I narrowed the field of vision we could see blueprints of the building we were in, the blue and red dot millimeters apart.

Without saying a word he went out the door, but not toward the car; he went around the building to the other side, the red dot him following the whole time.

I sighed knowing the only way he'd know it works is if I found him, so following his path I made my way to where he was, and he smiled and nodded in approval. 

Now all that was left to do was to think of whom on my team would have an ATU.

This one is Francis's, so not him. Alfred and Matthew are too young to be issued one; they were only on the team 6 months before me. That leaves Arthur, Ivan, and Yao. 

"When did ATU's stop being standard issue?" I asked Agent Citroen.

He thought for a moment, "5 years ago, the same time my team was disbanded."

5 years. Arthur has been on the team for almost four years; he's out. Ivan and Yao entered the team a year apart, 4 years ago? Maybe 5? Yao is around 10 years older than me, and 3 older than Ivan, so he's my best guess.

I typed in "Wang, Yao" and hoped he had an ATU. What if none of them had a tracker? We would have as much chance as a snowball did in the Sahara to find my team; actually, a snowball had more chance. This thought had always been nagging me in the back of my mind, but only now was the thought truly present. It was as terrifying as it was possible. I held my breath and closed my eyes as I entered it into the system.

“London, huh?” I heard Agent Citroen say behind me, “Looks like we’re going back into the city.”

I nodded and looked up at him determinedly, “Let’s go.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spain, the Netherlands, and the reader are part of the mafia, Spain flirts with a receptionist, the reader scares the shit out of a elevator operator, and the reader is called a flower and a bear. Also, Netherlands has bobby pins hidden in his hair.

The ride back into London was long to say the least. It lasted nearly 3 hours, with barely any conversation to pass it by. Now, although 3 hours may not seem like much, I spent most of it thinking about all the possible scenarios my team could be in, making every minute feel like an hour. It was only after Antonio called in and told (more like ordered) to take a nap was my mind finally put to rest; needless to say that my dreams didn't help in the slightest, but that's a story for another time.  

We and other agents arrived at the location Yao's ATU was supposedly in. It was a tall modern glass building in the middle of the city, bustling with activity. It was fairly late in the evening, but many tourists and businessmen still roamed the streets so immersed with their own lives that they didn't even notice us.  

"Well they certainly aren't trying to stay hidden," Agent Citroen said gazing at the building.  

I laughed under my breath; I thought the exact same thing. Though, remembering when I worked for 2p!inc., they weren't especially known for being well hidden, blending in was their specialty, and when that failed, bribing and threatening was their go-to.  

That's it, I thought, that's our way in.  

I quickly pulled the other agents on the side and told them my plan; we would use the 2p!s own strategy against them. Agent Karpusi and Adnan would stay out here and watch for any suspicious activity, Agent Citroen and Antonio would accompany me inside as the Mafia personas they were six months ago, infiltrate the building using the employees fear of the 2p!s to our advantage, and hopefully get inside of their home base. Hopefully being a key term in the plan.

They agreed to it on one condition; that Antonio, Agent Citroen, and I would change our appearance to avoid being recognized as agents or criminals (a note meant for all of us because Antonio and Agent Citroen were “part of the mafia,” but more towards me, because the capture of Dia was televised internationally. Not my or the team’s idea, but newscasters know everything.).  

We were all given new, black coats and matching pants; much to Antonio’s dismay who insisted I wear a skirt, to which I replied with a stern “no way in hell.”

 Going forth with my plan, ignoring Agent Adnan's snide comments, Antonio and "T.C."(Agent Citroen) accompanied me inside, all wearing new suits. Some business men didn't give us a once over, but the security guards were eyeing us like we were gangsters; that was the point.   

Knowing security guards, they won't do much other than eye you suspiciously until lives or their jobs are at stake. As long as I didn't try to steal anyone’s wallet or pull a gun out my pocket, they weren’t much of a threat. My main problem was the woman at the reception desk; the way she dressed and held herself screamed egotistical, overbearing, work-a-holic, with the IQ equivalent to the lint in my pocket; in other words, a bossy bitch. These were always the worse kind of receptionist, because they think that it is their civic duty to interrogate absolutely everyone who is within ten feet of them if they don’t “meet their standards” (in other words if you don’t look like a supermodel or dressed like one, you’re being questioned).

We approached the desk as nonchalantly as humanly possible, but Ms. Receptionist called us over with a snap and a point to the desk the moment we were within 5 meters of her. Trying to ignore her, we kept walking towards the elevator, but she wouldn’t have it. She walked out from behind the desk, disregarding the other 20 people that walked past her and her desk, and blocked our path to the elevator. Sighing internally, I knew it was impossible to pass her without going through her questioning.

“Excuse me, state your business here miss,” she said. Saying ‘miss,’ as if she was forcing herself to call me that.

“Sorry, but I’m afraid our business isn’t of your concern,” I said forcing myself not to punch her right in her perfectly plastic nose.

“Um, actually,” she said snapping her gum in annoyance, “You have to tell me or I’ll need to, like, report you to the building manager.”

I was about to reply, when Antonio held my shoulder and gave me a look that seemed to say “Don’t worry, I got this,” as he put me behind him protectively.

“I’m sorry for the trouble, chica,” He said flirtatiously; every word he spoke was soaked in his suggestive Spanish accent, “But we must go meet some colleagues of ours upstairs, and we’re already running late.”

She giggled obviously lost in those green eyes of his, “Oh, there’s no problem, you can go on through.”

“Thank you mi amor,” he said leaving the still fluttering receptionist and headed toward the elevator. 

Inside the elevator, the valet met us; just as I had hoped. The 2p!s always put their base in buildings that happened to have valets (they love classy buildings like that), and it was obvious that this building had not yet learned to stop hiring one.

“Which floor?” He said failing to conceal his anxiety the moment we stepped in.

“Do you even need to ask?” I replied not looking at him.

“Excuse me?”

Staring daggers into him I replied, “You know exactly what floor I’m talking about, and what’ll happen if you don’t take us there.”

Fearing for his life, he pressed the button to level 23 (coincidentally, that was the same floor my bosses, the 2p! Axis, was stationed… Or maybe not so coincidental) and remained silent the entire way up- not even bothering to even mentioning a bribe once we got up to our floor, as I’ve seen many do before- and quickly closed the door behind us. 

“Was it necessary to scare the crap out of the kid?” T.C. said once the elevator closed.

I sighed, “I know, I felt really bad... But ‘ya gotta do what’cha gotta do.”

The hall was dark and nearly deserted, only one door at the end of the hall, hard white lights glowing from under the door. Not even caring whether or not there were security cameras watching my every move, I walked toward the door and examined it. I knelt down just as the other two followed cautiously behind

“Locked, florecite?”

“Yeah,” I paused trying to use the minimal Spanish I knew to translate his new name for me, “‘little flower?’ Really Antonio?”

“Si, I don’t see why not. ”

“Fine. Do any of you have a bobby pin?” I said wanting to change the subject. 

Without any doubt in his eyes, Antonio looked at T.C., who looked about ready to kill the Spaniard. He didn’t – I’m not sure if it was because Antonio was his friend, or because cleaning up his body would be time consuming - and reached in his hair and pulled out a bobby pin. I looked at him quizzically and was about to ask him “Why?”

“Here beertje,” He said with a smile as he handed me the bobby pin; not a nice smile, but a smile nonetheless.

I started picking the lock thinking to myself that being called a flower was fine, but a “little bear” was a different animal entirely (no pun intended).


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shooting locks are a bad idea. It's a waste of bullets.

Despite what many people believe, picking a lock is NOT the easiest thing to do in the world, it takes years of patience, practice, and the ability to keep you from shooting the doorknob in a fit of blind rage (something neither Felicia nor I mastered until fairly recently). And the fact that there was two FBI agents looking over my shoulder and six more behind the door didn't exactly let my criminal instincts lay dormant for very long. The entire time my head was running on adrenaline, stressing me out even more, making it even more impossible to successfully pick the lock; turning into a downwards cycle threatening to revert me back into my "JUST SHOOT THE DAMN LOCK," phase.

When the lock finally made a light clicking sound, I sighed - mostly relieved that my handgun didn't have to get involved - and opened the door as quietly as possible, just in case the other team was behind it, and looked inside as slyly as possible. None of the "2p Allies" were there, much to my relief. I entered the room looking out for any alarms, cameras, or anything else that could give away our presence, and to my utter disbelief, there were none; yet another thing that this team differed from my former bosses.

"Hey, Rose Boy, we have a little situation down here," A muffled voice said through Antonio's radio.

"2pAllies are in the building, Feta-Bread bribed the management to keep them down here for as long as possible but we don't know how long you have, get out of there while you still can."

"No way in hell." I said. "You two can leave, but I'm not leaving until I found my team."

"But chica-" Antonio started.

"No. Let her do as she will, there's nothing you can say that can stop her," Citroen interjected, then he turned is attention to me. "We'll give you as much time as possible Dia, but hurry."

Before I could thank him he and Antonio ran off, loading their guns as they did. And I turned my attention to the room as I closed and locked the door quietly.

The room looked like a penthouse suite, and although I don't like the other team for obvious reasons, I can't help but say that they definitely have exquisite taste. The rugs, curtains, and furniture looked handmade, and probably all imported. There were seven hardwood desks placed in two neat rows (three in the front, four in the back) with writing utensils, pictures, desktops, and other normal office supplies - nothing incriminating there, and about 6 inches too short and 4 inches too narrow to hide a even an average sized person in (don't ask how I know that). There were an abundance of footprints on the hardwood floor, and a large portion of people took a very specific route. I followed the footprints to a tall bookshelf on the back wall next to a large window. 

Now before you assume that there was a secret passage behind the bookshelf, I'll tell you something right now. I was a professional criminal and now a special agent in the FBI. I have seen everything from Caucasian ninjas to the stereotypical bounty hunter who rides on a motorcycle, wears a ten-gallon hat, and smokes a pack of cigarettes a day. But I have never, ever, seen a secret entrance behind a bookshelf. And that would not be the day where I would see it. But it wasn't so rare to find a lever within a bookshelf for a secret entrance.

Most of the books were modern novels or reference books, but a very distinct book caught my eye; a frayed royal blue book with the title "The Blue Gemstone" in gold lettering on the shelf placed perfectly in my line of sight. No author or publishing company on it, just "The Blue Gemstone." I hesitantly pulled the book back to look at it and heard a slight hiss from behind, coming from the empty seventh desk. I whipped my head around and approached it cautiously as the desk and the floor under it slid back revealing a hidden hatch to a dark room below it, and without second thought I jumped in, not caring that the hatch didn’t close behind me.

The only thing in the room was an old elevator, not connected to the buildings’ one, and with only one floor listed, “the glass-room.” I hesitantly stepped in and slid the metal gate closed. And before I could push a button the elevator shook, as if it sensed my presence, then started its descent.

It arrived to a room just like the one from my dream the other night, the cold stone floors, and pristine white walls. For a moment I feared that the there would be blood on the ground, leading right toward my teammates. I was too shaken with fear to exit the elevator and shut my eyes tightly to avoid seeing my worst nightmare. 

“(Name)! Thank goodness you’re okay!” I heard a voice call out to me from behind the elevator.

I turned around and saw my teammates behind a glass pane, smiling in relief at my good health, unlike them. They’re clothes were ragged and they all looked as if they hadn’t slept in years.

I rushed out of the elevator, towards them and felt as if, for the first time in years, I could cry from the pure and utter relief I felt. I found my team. It was over. 

“Are you guys okay?” I asked, raising my voice so that they could hear me through the glass. “How do I get you out of here?”

“There should be a digital lock on you side on the far left,” Alfred said. “But the only way to unlock it is with a passcode.”

“They mentioned that we all know what it is, since it was how we got here,” Matthew said.

“It’s twelve letters long, and starts with a ‘B,’” Arthur said.

Wait, I thought, twelve letters, starts with ‘B.’ It couldn’t be...

I turned on the screen and typed in “b-l-u-e-g-e-m-s-t-o-n-e” and the screen flashed green. The glass door made a clicking sound and the guys ran out and hugged me gratefully, even Arthur who always claimed to hate hugs.

“Mon cher! That was magnifique!” Francis said.

“That was amazing (Name)!” Yao yelled.

I was about to respond when a smooth voice interjected, “Yes, Blue Gemstone. That was in fact amazing.” 

Our celebration came to a swift close as my teammates put me protectively behind them. The brown haired New Yorker eyed me hungrily, looking straight past my teammates.

“But this is the end of the line.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Character death this chapter. You have been warned.

“The party has just begun now that you’re here,” the longhaired dirty blond Canadian added. “You seven aren’t going anywhere.”

“Oh yeah?” Alfred bravely interjected, approaching them, “How are you ‘gonna stop us?”

The New Yorker smiled; the most devilish smile I have ever seen. As if he knew more about us than even we knew, and no matter how long ago it feels, it still terrifies me. He approached Alfred without a shred of fear, and put his hands behind his head, reclining. He knew he was safe, my team was stripped of their weapons when they were captured, and if I drew my weapon, his teammates wouldn’t hesitate to do the same. We were cornered.

He shifted his focus back on to me and his smile faded, “Dia, do you know long we’ve been searching for you? How many people we had to use to track you down?” His smile reappeared, “And I’m sad to say that won’t end tonight.”

The long haired Canadian yanked me by my hair and pulled me away from them. My teammates advanced to stop him, but the frenchman pulled out a gun and pressed it against the back of my head.

“One step closer and she gets a bullet to the brain,” The frenchman said curtly. They stopped in their tracks and put they’re hands in the air, showing that they were going to cooperate. The Canadian continued to bind my arms and legs, then put a cloth over my eyes and in my mouth.

“Wouldn’t want you to be too traumatized,” the Canadian said quietly to me, “Sound should be more than enough to scare you."

“Which one should I kill first, Dia?” The New Yorker asked me. I heard the faint click of a hand gun. And I shook my head in detest, praying that they would spare them.

“No?” He asked when he saw my head shaking in dismay. “Well we have to kill someone, and it can’t be you Dia.”

“You bastard!” I heard a familiar voice exclaim, followed by the sound of fighting and then someone hitting the floor, hard.

“Contain the rest of them,” the New Yorker said again after the scuffle.

“Well, Dia since you won’t choose… I’ll choose my self,” He said. I could almost hear the smirk in his voice, 

“Eenie, meenie, miney…” There was a pause as settled on someone, "You.”

Then a gun shot rung through the small room, and I hung my head in defeat, it was over, the Allies had lost. I tried to keep the tears from flowing, but I still felt the cloth over my eyes dampen slightly, and a pressure behind my eyes increasing.

“Nobody move!” I heard a familiar voice say, but it wasn’t one of my teammates, it was my ex-partner-in-crime: Felicia.

 

The sound of foot steps followed, and soon the blindfold was taken off, followed by the gag.

“Are you okay (Last Name)-san?” Kiku, one of Felicia’s teammates, said.

“Yes, but who-“ I started.

“Don’t worry, Agent,” Her other teammate, Ludwig, said, as Kiku worked at cutting the ropes away from my hands and feet. “I fired the shot. No one was killed, though the leader of the 2p Allies is going to have trouble doing anything with his right hand after this.”

I laughed for the first time in what felt like years, as I saw the 2p Allies being pinned to the floor, a lone gun shattered on the other side to the room. We had won, it was finally over. Everything could finally go back to the way it was two weeks ago. The only difference was that now I was sure that my team would have no problem trusting me anymore. After a fiasco like this, how could there be any mistrust in my team? 

I froze, if it was truly over, why would I still feel so anxious.

I looked up, just as the last 2p Ally member was escorted upstairs. The Canadian. He looked around suspiciously, and slyly took out his gun. Before I could warn anyone, he elbowed his escort in the chin and sent him staggering back.

“End of the line, Matthieu,” Felicia said attempting to disarm him. He smiled, just as dastardly as the New Yorker did.

“Agreed.”

A gunshot rang once again through the room, but instead of disarming, this one meant to kill.

“Felicia!” Ludwig yelled as he rushed over to the scene. He quickly disarmed him and pinned him to the ground. The escort, still recovering from the blow, reprehended him and took him upstairs

“This isn’t over, Dia,” ‘Matthieu' said to me, “This is only the beginning.”

I went over to inspect the injury, I don’t remember much of it, but I knew from the moment I got there, that she was gone.

 

My best friend, Felicia Vargas, was dead.


	17. Chapter 17

The funeral was short and simple. The Axis and Allies stood around the coffin in simple black formal attire. None of her family members attended. Her parents had died years before and her brothers were living behind bars. No tears were shed. The only sounds were the rustling of the trees behind us. The pastor came moments later. He spoke about her adventures through life and her transition to a new one. He didn't know what she went through while she was alive. He didn't know that she was part of one the world's most elusive crime ring on earth. He didn't know that she was a part of the thief known as Diamond in the Rough. He didn't know she escaped a life in jail to work in the FBI. He didn't know her.

The coffin was lowered into the ground. Workers came in to bury it. Soon the coffin couldn't be seen. Agent Honda and Belischimdt turned and started to walk away. Agent Belischimdt put and hand on my shoulder as he passed, barely stopping to glance at me. She often spoke well of him. If she hadn't passed, maybe they could have had a future together.

The Allies and I started to follow the remaining Axis members. Leaves fluttered in the breeze and fell gracefully to the ground. The chaos from three weeks ago vanished. It was peaceful.

After the arrest of the 2p Allies, the Dia copy cat vanished. We believe that they were responsible for the recent robberies. Allistor congratulated us for our victory against the 2p Allies' reign of terror. I looked at my teammates. It hadn't felt like a victory. It still doesn't.

We walked through the cemetery. I looked through the rows and rows of grave stones. Families were gathered around a few of them, placing flowers at the base of the headstones. Many cried. Many mourned. I looked back at her gravestone. The workers were nearly finished burying it, but something seemed strange. Among the workers was a shock of blonde hair and teal eyes. I stopped. I knew those eyes. He looked up and smiled at me. He reached inside his coat and pulled out two roses, one red, one blue. He dropped the red one into the grave. And looked back towards me. Blue rose in hand he nodded towards me and left the grave stone.

The corners of my lips pulled back. My teammates had stopped with me looking that the gravestone as well.

"Who was that, mon cher?" Francis asked, trying to catch my attention.

"The boss," I said. I'm not sure if he completely heard me, but I didn't really care then. I bolted toward the man. My teammates called from behind me. They soon realized I wouldn't stop and started following.

Teal eyes glanced up and saw me running towards him. His mouth curled into a smile. He went into a grove of trees. He didn't run. He waited patiently until I arrived, my team trailing behind me. He waited against a tree, glasses glinting against the sun.

"Good to see you, (Name)," he said. "It's been a long time."

"Not long enough," I replied.

"Wait," Alfred said from behind me, "I recognize you from somewhere."

"He was the LAPD. The chief's right hand man," I said to Alfred, "Eduard von Bock."

There was a pause for the briefest of moments, but everything seemed to still. Eduard's mouth slowly curled back into a smiled. He looked at me dead in the eyes.

"Well, well, (Name) you did recognize me. Congrats," he said with eyes that mocked my very existence. "It's too bad Felicia couldn't be here to witness this, she would have been in for quite a shock. You, on the other hand, something tells me that you always suspected that I was hiding something."

"(Name)," Yao yelled. "What are you doing? Apprehended him!" I looked back to see Yao raise his gun, only to be forcefully put down by Matthew.

"Don't," Ivan warned. "There are snipers everywhere."

As if on cue, a red dot appeared on Yao, then Ivan, and the rest of my team, one by one.

"Good eye," Eduard said nodding to Ivan. "It would be in your best interest to drop your weapons." His smile dropped and he stared dagger into me and the rest of the Allies. "Now."

The team unholstered their weapons and dropped them, holding their hands up in the air. Once all their weapons laid on the ground, Eduard snapped his fingers and the red dots vanished. He smiled.

"Now (Name), there are two ways this could end," he said, loudly enough for my teammates to hear but quietly enough not to disturb any bystanders. "You either come with me now, and your precious teammates will live another day; or you could refuse, and all," he looked behind me and counted under his breath for a moment. "Six. All six of you will meet your end in a graveyard. Simply poetic, don't you think?"

Six? I thought, What does he mean six? There are seven of us. Unless...

I thought for a moment, trying to remember what exactly happened leading up to the present. I couldn't remember precisely, it was all such a blur.

"Is something wrong (Name)?" Eduard asked. "You seem confused."

I was about to respond, when I saw a brief streak of red light on a nearby tree out of the corner of my eye.

Matthew. I thought, I need to stall.

"I am," I said trying to keeping Eduard's attention on me, "Why? Why would someone like you, leader of an entire criminal organization, be so hellbent on keeping me as an operative?"

A flash of red light streaked against the ground behind Eduard.

"Call it a favor for a close friend."

"You have close friends?" Ivan said from behind me. I glared at him as Yao gave him a firm slap upside the head. He really needs to learn tact.

"Ignoring that," Eduard continued. A streak of red lit against the leaves above our heads, then vanished. "A very interested third party wanted me to take good care of you."

"Who?" I said.

"No one in particular. But I feel like I should let you know that there was a reason your were assigned to steal jewels; diamonds in particular." He smiled.

A gun shot suddenly rang through the graveyard, filling the still air and a tree splintered behind him. Eduard looked up to a nearby rooftop, and saw that his snipers were no longer there.

My earpiece buzzed. "Shit! Sorry!" I heard Matthew's voice say. "All the snipers are unconscious. Take him done now!"

"Seems like that's my cue to exit," Eduard said, pulling out a pistol and holding it towards my head. "I don't think I need to tell you that if you follow me, you'll get a new metal ornament in your skull."

"Of course not," I replied, backing away.

"Good." He smiled deviously. "But just in case-"

I heard a gunshot, so loud my ears started ringing, and felt a sharp pain in my leg. I cried out, but I couldn't even hear my own voice. My legs gave out, sending me hurling toward the ground. I felt light headed. My vision started to blur. Eduard ran off; to where I couldn't tell. I faintly heard yelling behind me. Blurry faces crowded my view as warm hands started gently tending to me. My leg felt warm and wet. It was all too much. I blacked out.

I woke up in a hospital bed, my teammates gathered around me. They looked relieved when I woke up. There was a sharp aching pain in my leg, black thread adorning it. I recovered over the next few weeks. Allistor constantly fretted over my health, telling me I didn't have to go back to work for a while if I didn't feel up to it, but where else was I supposed to go? I was back on my feet within two weeks, ready to finally end the organisation that I started in.

That was how it started. That was how the search for Eduard von Bock started. It has been two years since then, since those few months of hell, since our biggest case, since Felicia's death.

I sometimes wish that I could quit this job and live the normal life I've wanted for years now. Though, listening to my teammates in the room outside reminds me of how much I would miss this, and the promise I made to myself when I woke up in the hospital.

Eduard von Bock, I will ensure you are put behind bars. Even if it's the last thing I do.


End file.
